TP2018

I am 47 years old and am I ready to change my job. I am seriously thinking about flying. Yes, I have read whatever I could and I spoke to recruiters, schools and so on. However, I would like to hear suggestion, tips and options from real pilots. Currently, I live in Charlotte, NC and if possible, I would like to stay here.
What should I consider? Is this realistic or is this too late? What should I watch for? I understand first few years can be financially pretty hard. What is the realistic pay scale for FO the first 2-3 years? What is realistic pay in 5 and 10 years from the start? What is the realistic time to move to captain in Republic vs. Piedmont vs. PSA? How easy is it to move from local to major airlines? What is the realistic time frame? Which are the major airline to consider? Which airlines are best to work for? How the reserve time works, what needs to be consider?
Thank you in advance.

IVVIB

Find a local flight school, take a discovery flight.

Mrhr5b

You need to factor in the process of time building typically 2 years at minimum wage. So factor in 6-12 months of training +1.5-2 years of time building where you most likely are just breaking even. ( most of my friends were on food stamps/medicade as cfi’s) On top of that you’ll need to have the funds for training. Training at a school like Atp is about 80k +living expenses.

If that all sounds good you’ll have to consider how you deal with the stress of your career progression being on the line every time you take a Checkride. Some deal quite well some not so much.

Flying has great aspects but it’s certainly different than I expected it to be. A discovery flight is a great idea, I would also suggest going to an Ame or contacting aopa about the medical requirements.

TiredSoul

By the time you’re eligible for hire by the airlines you’ll be 50.
Unless you have $150k laying around that’s 3 years at minimum wage.
Nobody knows what the market will be in 3 years.
If anything do this part time one rating at a time with money that you have or make as you go along.
You can quit at any time without debt if the market tanks or if you decide it’s not for you.
Please, do NOT get a $70,000 loan at 6% with your home as collateral.
By the way, my wife had 4 part time jobs when I was instructing.

TP2018

How intense is the instructor portion of the training? Can one do for example Uber in the evening to supplement income?

IVVIB

Dude, go take some flight lessons. If it’s something you’re passionate about you can make anything happen. This is an industry of sacrifice for a passion. If you keep trying to game it from behind a keyboard it’ll never work out.

Lahey

Be ready to move your family across the country. In this industry, that is something that could happen overnight. Unless you want to commute, which is always an option.

Too late? Nah. A bit tougher for someone changing careers at the stage of the game you're in? yes.

First year as an instructor: made just shy of $20,000. Second..maybe 25,000?

First year FO: 30k

who knows what it'll be by the time you make it to the airlines. That's easily 2-3 years down the road (after completing flight school and building time.)

Captain upgrades are happening quick right now. 4 years down the road when it'll be time for you to upgrade, couldn't tell you. That could change over night.

It's not easy to get a job at a major. Not sure how else to put that. When you get a job at a major, they have bases all over the country. You may want charlotte but might not be senior enough to hold it. Might get stuck commuting to New York or LA.

realistic time frame from starting flight school to a major? Probably 8-10 years.

Reserve sucks. You get a call, you have x amount of time to make it to the airport. It's different for every airline. Piedmont, you have 1 hour and 30 minutes to get to the gate.

Long story short, yeah, it's doable. the industry needs pilots. that isn't making the path to the majors any easier though. Most regional pilots are working their butts off with a low quality of life from 5-8 years at a regional just to get hired on at a major. Some might not even get hired (DUIs, no degree, not putting effort in, etc.) If you have a family, you'll see an increase in stress on the household. At piedmont, you're home 11 days of the month. 4 days of work, 2 days off. You barely have enough time to recover from the trip before you're back on the road.

Take some lessons, see if you actually enjoy flying. If you do, get your private pilots license at a local airport and see if you want to take it further. I'd advise against going all in and getting a loan without a private pilots license and just a few lessons. oh and try not to get a loan at all.

Mike5250

Not sure what jobs are like in charlotte but in northeast you can make over 50k as a cfi pretty easily if you don’t get picky about your schedule (get hrs quicker too). Go take a couple intro flights*!

ArmyRWP2018

Do you have any Aviation college programs in the area with a steady stream of students? If not you might want to consider something like Infinity Flight Group out of Trenton. Some instructors are doing 100 hours per month there. They are literally living at the school with a seven day commitment to make it happen.

Met a gentleman at ATP CTP that built his time in over a year with a mapping job crossing the country in a C-172 putting in 11 flight hour days.

My advice would be a more deliberate approach to give you the time to bring you knowledge level up as well. Just as important as numbers in a logbook.

Good luck.

Otterbox

If you’re willing to move then go to Republic and enjoy fair pay and decent QOL while you apply to the majors.

If you’re embedded in CLT, PSA will offer you the longest term QOL with the flow to AA.

PDT will offer you fair QOL if you make it to the training department which is in CLT. Otherwise expect close to min days off as an FO and a long time to hold CLT as a captain and then close to min days off for the rest of your tenure.